Forever's Not Enough
by hopelessromantic09
Summary: Bella and Edward met when they were kids. She wanted nothing to do with him, but he wanted to be everything to her. What happens as their relationship develops and the years go by. Sometimes, forever is not enough. AH, AU, very minimal OOC. One shot.


**A/N: Hey everyone! I'll give the explanation for this in my bottom A/N. I hope you **

**enjoy it. This is dedicated to JillMH and hgbkwrm because they encouraged me to do this, helped with the title and the writing, and gave me a kick in the butt when I needed it most. **

_If you love me, let me know. If not, please gently let me go._

_Anonymous_

I loved her. It was no secret to her, me, or to those who knew us. That's the way we were: an "us", we have never been just her and I separately, we were a unit. I had been with her and no one else, officially, for four years. I loved her with every fiber of my being because she loved me at my highest of highs and lowest of lows. I loved her so much, I'd be willing to die for her, anytime, any day. I would often go back to the time when we first met, when everything seemed so easy between us. I knew, the second I laid eyes on her, that she was the one for me.

I saw her from across the street and, even at eight years old, I knew she was the most beautiful girl in the world. I walked across the street with my mother and father to meet her and her family. After exchanging greetings with her parents, I went up to her and started talking to her but she quickly silenced me with a look and the words that came from her mouth. "I don't like boys, boys have nothing to offer a girl, except cooties." I walked dejectedly back to my parents and didn't speak to her again, until that fateful day a few months later. My parents were going out of town for the weekend and couldn't find a baby-sitter so they asked Bella's parents if they could look after me. They agreed and I was taken across the street to spend the weekend with someone who despised and wanted nothing to do with me.

I walked into the house and was told to go up to Bella's room while dinner was being made. I climbed up the stairs, walked into her room and was greeted with a sight that would forever remain one of my favorite memories. Bella was laying on her bed with her hair splayed out on the pillows and her face was that of an angel's, so serene, until she started moving around and began mumbling in her sleep. It didn't sound like a good dream, so I did what my mother did to me when I had a nightmare. I climbed into bed with her and began running my fingers through her hair, humming a soothing tune to calm her down. It seemed to work but she still seemed uncomfortable so I whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, it'll be okay. I'll look after you, always." As I continued, her mumbling ceased and her breath evened out, my smile was prominent, starting out as just a pull of the lips, but quickly transforming into a full on grin, much like the cheshire cat in_ Alice and Wonderland_. I knew she'd accept me someday. I found myself getting sleepy as I laid there with her and, before I knew it, my body and mind were consumed by sleep.

The next morning, I woke up and looked around, disoriented. Nothing here looked familiar to me so I sat up and took in my surroundings. I looked to my left and found my sleeping beauty. My Bella. She began to stir and her eyes fluttered open, looking directly at me. I didn't know what to do or say to her, so I just sat there waiting for her to say something, anything. She did nothing. I got off the bed and mumbled, "I'm sorry, I'll go."

"Wait," she said, climbing out of her bed, "were you here the entire night with me?"

I didn't know if I should tell her the truth or quickly make up a lie. My mother had taught me not to lie so I settled for telling her the truth. "Um, yeah, your mom told me to just come up here and wait for dinner but I-" Bella cut me off with an embrace. She whispered in my ear, "Thank you." and kissed me on my cheek. When she did that, I knew that she would be my girl, forever.

Ever since that day, we were inseparable. I was either at her house or she was at mine and we were each other's best friend. That pattern continued for years until we were sixteen. Bella had transformed from a cute girl who wore pigtails and frilly skirts into a beautiful woman with curves and the personality of a saint. I wanted to be more than her best friend. I wanted to be her boyfriend, her significant other. I wanted to be the one that she would come to for anything. I wanted to protect her from anything the world planned to throw at her. I had been contemplating asking her for months and I finally just decided to do it on her sixteenth birthday. I went over to her house that night and was going to give her a locket with two pictures in it. The first picture was from when we were eight and I was pushing her on a swing, both of us sporting matching grins. The second was taken when we were fifteen and showed us embracing each other after a huge win of one of my baseball games.

As we sat outside on her porch steps, I gave her the locket. She was speechless and had silent tears running down her face. I automatically took her face in my hands and gently wiped the tears away with my thumbs. I thought to myself, _This is it, just do it, _and so I did. I hesitantly grazed her lips with mine. At first she was shocked and motionless, but she quickly got over that and reciprocated the gesture. Ever since then, I had planned on making her a part of my family.

From that day, forward, Bella never took off the locket, despite any fights we may have had. The locket represented us and the love we held for each other. When our new found relationship first started out, it was amazing. Nothing had changed between us except that we were on a new level with one another, and that lasted for years, up until the past few weeks. I noticed that Bella became more aloof and she always seemed so bored when she was around me. I shook it off, thinking that she was worried about her job or classes or something, but I never would've imagined that it involved our relationship.

I was at home, playing my piano when I heard her walk in. When she walked into the room I looked up, smiled, and said what I always said when she came home, "Hey, how was your day?" I was answered with a shrug and nothing more. I had decided earlier that if that was the response I got, as I had been getting for the past few weeks, then I would interrogate her and ask what was wrong. I kept the promise I made to myself and asked, "Bella, are you alright? Is something bothering you?"

She looked in my direction, but wasn't looking at me, it seemed as if she were looking through me. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"No, I don't believe you. What's wrong, Sweetheart?" I got up and wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace, but it was like embracing a mannequin. There was no response.

I pulled back and held her face so she was looking at my face. "Bella, you need to tell me what's wrong. For the past few weeks you haven't been yourself and you're really distant. I need to know if it's something that I did or if it's something I can fix. Please, I want to help you." When I said this, she looked at me and asked, "You want to help me? You want to fix this?" I nodded enthusiastically and thanked whatever God I could think of that I got an actual response from her.

"Yes, I want to help. I'll do anything for you. I'd die for you, it's no secret and you know it best." She looked at me and said, "Okay, help me pack my stuff."

I released my hold on her face, stunned by her words, and said, "Okay but where are you going?" She looked away and began walking to the bedroom, "I'm leaving."

I followed her and, again, inquired as to where she was going. Her response stopped me in my tracks. "I'm leaving to go back home. Edward, I'm leaving you."

"What? Why?"

"Because I can't do this anymore."

I still didn't understand, "But why? What can't you do anymore? I love you. If it's something I did, I'll fix it. If something happened, you can tell me." She looked at me and said the words that I never wanted to hear her say. " The only thing that happened is that I've fallen out of love with you. I don't think there's anything you can do to fix it."

She began going around the room and collecting all of her belongings and stuffing them in the few bags she had. I just stood there and couldn't move, I didn't even know if I was breathing, a war could've broken out and I wouldn't have noticed, the only thing I noticed was the fact that my girl, my Bella, was leaving me. As she left, she unhooked the locket from around her neck, where it had stayed for four years, unmoving, and placed it in my hand and said, "Goodbye Edward."

I don't know how long I stood there, long enough for me to lose feeling in my legs and feet. I had no idea what to do so I just laid on the bed, absentmindedly fidgeting with the locket, and tried to figure out when everything had gone so wrong and why everything got so hard for us. Our relationship used to be as easy as breathing for both of us. I don't know how long I laid there just staring at nothing but time kept moving forward. Sometime during my depression, the locket slipped from between my fingers, down to the carpeted floor with a soft thud.

I tried. I tried to live my life without her but it was too hard. I felt numb everyday and I eventually stopped caring about anything and everything I said or did, not that I spoke much or did much after she left. I tried to call her, but she had changed her number.Eventually, I resumed my life, it took me awhile but I did.

It had been five months since the day my life changed when I received a letter. I never really paid too much attention to the mail but for some reason, I felt compelled to look at every envelope today, and I was glad I did. In the mail, was an envelope addressed to me from Bella. I knew immediately it was from her because I recognized her handwriting, I'd recognize it anywhere. I switched the envelope from hand to hand because I didn't know what to do. Should I open the letter and read it or should I just leave it alone? On one hand, I would've given anything to know what happened between us from her perspective, to know how she was feeling, but on the other hand, I was just starting to heal properly, did I really want to screw with all the progress I made? I made my decision quickly, yes, I would screw up all the progress I had made. I opened the letter with a fierce pace and began to read.

_Edward,_

_You have been there for me practically my entire life, you stood by me through everything and you never once faltered in caring for me. You kept your promise that you made to me when we were eight years old and you did look after me, I just didn't look after you like I should've. I'm sorry for everything that transpired between us. When I left you, I told you that I had simply fallen out of love with you, and that is the entire truth. I did fall out of love with you but my reason was because I was bored and I felt that our relationship was going nowhere. I felt trapped in the relationship, like I was suffocating. I didn't feel like we could talk it out because there was nothing to say. I don't feel that therapy would've helped us either because the plain truth was that I really did fall out of love with you and I felt it was time to move on. I always have, and will continue, to call you my best friend because that's what you've been, my best friend. I know that sorry is just a word that gets thrown around but I truly mean it. You are a strong and wise person and I'm sure, with time, you'll heal from all this and you'll find someone else to be happy with. I only want the best for you and I have no doubt that you'll find someone who will love you for eternity. I am truly sorry for all the pain I caused you and I hope in time, you'll forgive me._

_Bella_

I hadn't even realized that I was crying until I was finished and I saw a tear drop on the paper. She had fallen out of love with me. It was that simple. She said there was nothing that could fix it but I would've done anything, as long as it meant that I could have her back. I had heard that falling out of love is the worst pain that a person could go through, I never imagined that I would feel this pain, not when I was with Bella. This was, by far, the worst pain I had ever felt in my entire life. I felt like somebody reached into my chest, grabbed my heart, and began yanking at it with an unforgivable amount of force, until it was taken from me and it stopped beating.

I slid down the wall and began to sob. I cried for Bella, because she was bored with our relationship, I cried for myself, because I felt like a horrible person who didn't know how to love another, and I cried because of the unknown. I had no idea what the future had in store for me or Bella. Even after everything that happened, I couldn't bring myself to forget her, or think of her in a bad way. She said that she would always consider me her best friend, and I would do the same for her because even thought she broke my heart, I still cared for her and I knew that I always would, no matter what.

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It was a cool, crisp Fall day. I was in the middle of the farmer's market looking at some vegetables when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw her. Bella. She was down the row of booths looking at some table decorations. As soon as I saw her, I felt a slight tug of my heart strings. It had been two years since we broke up, and at first, I suffered, I had thought that I could never recover from it because even though she said it was her fault we weren't together, I still blamed myself because I felt incapable of loving another.

I did ruin all the progress I had made with regards to healing from when she first left, and I became distant form everyone I had a relationship with. I felt like I wasn't worth loving and I felt like I would never be able to love another person the way I loved Bella. I accepted this as fact.

I was thinking of this as I felt a smaller hand reach for my hand and interlock our knuckles. Her name was Shannon. She had a vibrant energy that you couldn't ignore and no matter what was going on, she always made me smile. She helped me realize that I wasn't incapable of loving another person, but that I just had to wait for the right person to come along so I could love them with everything I had to offer. That person was her.

"What are you staring at?" she asked. I took my hand from her and put my arm around her waist. "Nothing."

I looked at Bella, only to see that a man had come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She turned to face him and she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a chaste kiss. As he let go of her and turned to the table, she caught my eye. Her first expression was shock, but that quickly turned into a small, but genuine smile. I smiled back to her and nodded my head, _I understand, _was all it said, and it didn't need to mean anything more.

**A/N: Ok so I hope you enjoyed that. So for one of my final projects in language arts class, we had to do a creative writing assignment. We had the choice of a poem, short story or editorial. I chose to do a short story and I wrote it as if it were a one shot because it was easier for me. I was told that it was good and I should post it as a one shot. So that's what I'm doing and depending on the response it gets, I may turn it into a full on story. I have some ideas but it all depends on you guys and what you think of it. Let me know what you think!!**


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